The use of protective headgear in various types of sports or hazardous activities is well known. Conventional protective helmets have one or more inner pads secured by fasteners to the inner surfaces of a rigid helmet shell and are generally adapted to conform to the shape of a wearer's head. A principal concern is the ability of a protective helmet to absorb specific forces. In the case of hockey helmets, these standards have been set forth by the Canadian Standards Association, in their Standards for Hockey Helmets, under publication No. Z262.1-1975, and are generally internationally accepted. For instance, corresponding H.E.C.C, C.E.N. and I.S.O. standards have been established.
One of the problems associated with the use of such helmets arises when the inner pads of the helmet are not properly fitted to the head of the user. Since human heads vary widely in size and shape, these variances create significant difficulties in designing hockey helmets which are required to fit tightly on the head of the wearer to provide the desired level of protection. This problem is further exacerbated when high density foam materials are used to form the padding due to the inherent non-compliant nature of these materials. However the use of high density foam padding material is advantageous due to its ability to absorb significant levels of energy. There is therefore a need for an improved hockey helmet which utilizes high density padding but which is comfortable to the wearer.